The Key to My Heart
by Elena Gilbert 1992
Summary: Damon Salvatore is a renowned arms dealer who kidnaps John Gilbert's daughter, Elena. At first, Elena hates Damon as if he's the devil itself, but as secrets unravel, they grow closer to each other. Will Elena finally find the key to Damon's heart?
1. Chapter 1

**I'm so sorry for not updating any other stories, but if you've read my profile, then you might have understood that all of them are on hold but Yours. So, I looked over my fics and realized that I have no kidnapping stories, like, made from scratch. I dunno why, but Becky wasn't answering me (I'm not mad, she must have exams), but I asked Amy and she said okay, and poof! A new beta for me. But I'm not abandoning Becky. **

**This fic is DE and is a mildly dark story (AH). Don't read if you don't like bipolar Damon. **

**Read on, fellow fan-fiction-ers!**

Chapter 1

Elena Gilbert burst in through the front door of her house with a pile of grocery bags hooked to her arms. She finally relieved herself of the weight by gently placing them onto the kitchen counter, and sighed from exhaustion.

"I'm home!" She yelled, peering around the corner to see if anyone was present. Her father, John, sat lazily on the couch reading a newspaper. Elena tip-toed towards him and threw her arms around his neck, ignoring the tearing sound the newspaper made. John didn't bat an eyelash. He had never been fearful, at least not since the accident.

Elena sighed sadly, a wave of nostalgia hitting over her as she remembered the story her parents used to tell her. Her mother Isobel had been saved by John when some thug had attacked her. She had fallen in love with him the instant he had got her to safety. Time flew by, they had kids, the kids grew up, and one day, when Elena was 16, her mother disappeared without a trace.

"Elena," John sungsong, "It isn't naptime."

"Oh!" She released her hands from his neck. "Sorry, have you seen Jeremy?"

John knew exactly why Elena was asking. "In his room, of course. Present time came early this year?"

However, Elena was already climbing up the stairs quickly as she rushed to her room, taking a deep breath as she found herself drinking in the comfort, nostalgia and happiness that this room had brought her. She had always felt good in there. She smiled and knelt down, grabbing a box from under her bed. It was an early Christmas present for Jeremy. Today was, fortunately, the first day of Christmas vacation, so Elena thought that she should give Jeremy his gift earlier this year.

Setting a truly genuine smile on her face, Elena entered Jeremy's room. However, her smile was quickly wiped off and the box clattered to the floor.

"Why the hell are you watching porn?!" She ripped the earphones off his head and slapped him. Hard.

As she looked around the room in disbelief as she saw countless bottles of alcohol and boxes of cigarettes which were scattered on the floor 's breath stunk of alcohol and his eyes were red-rimmed, filled with lust. Elena was disgusted.

"I can explain!" He protested.

"What, huh? What will you explain? I even kept Vicki's pregnancy secret to Dad! But-this?" Elena snarled, "Just watch how I ruin your life."

Jeremy looked close to tears. "Elena, it was an accident, please, I swear to God, I won't do anything again."

"Sorry, Jer, but the time has passed." Elena said coldly, "Dad! Get up here."

A few minutes later John came into the bedroom and frowned disappointedly when he saw the scene. "Jeremy, don't tell me this is what it looks like."

"Well, it is!" Elena screamed, her emotions getting to the best of her. "He even got Vicki Donovan pregnant. I didn't tell you so Jeremy wouldn't be blamed. Vicki had her kid a month ago, but Jeremy didn't care about her or the child, so she put it up for adoption."

John sighed. "Young man, you and I are going for a drive. And Elena, I'll be sure to deal with you later." Once again John took a look at Elena and swiftly walked out of the room, with a shameful Jeremy following.

Elena began picking up the mess in the room. Along with more cigarettes and DVDs was a pair of panties shoved into a bottle of beer. She held it away from her with a sick expression on her face. As for the DVDs, she had no intention to see what was on them.

[…]

Elena was in the bathroom brushing her hair when she heard her phone ring from outside. She was still worried about Jeremy as she tried to convince herself that telling John was the right thing to do. Sighing, she walked out and picked it up, walking back to the bathroom.

"Hey, Bonnie." She sighed.

"Elena, I don't know how to tell you this but…"

"What's going on, Bon? You seem worried."

"Do you have a minute so that we can meet up? I want to get this out but I don't want to do it on the phone."

"I'm actually a bit busy right now," Elena said, "You can tell me, Bonnie. What's going on?"

She heard Bonnie take a deep breath. "I…I k-kinda s-slept with J-Jeremy."

Elena's breath caught in her throat as she forced the word out, "W-What?" What the hell was going on? It seemed like everybody was going crazy in a span of minutes.

"Relax, girl, I'm not pregnant or anything. It was just some…drunken fun with him, and it turned into sex."

"Oh, Bon. We caught him doing really bad stuff." She heard Bonnie gasping.

"What did he do?"

"I don't think you'd want to know," Elena sighed. "I have to go, Bon. I'll talk to you later…"

"Elena…I'm sorry…I must've startled you."

"I'm fine, Bon. Talk to you later. Bye," Elena said as she continue to brush her hair in desperation.

[…]

At around nine o'clock, when Elena was changing into her night clothes after dinner, she heard the a knock on the front door from downstairs.

_That must be John and Jeremy_, She thought. It wasn't rare for John to forget his key. She darted down the stairs but her pace slowed immediately when she saw a tall, handsome man in front of her.

He was like nothing she'd ever seen. The eyes that suited his pale skin were an oceanic, icy blue and raven black hair framed his face perfectly. His lips curved up into a 'u' shape. His jawbone was firm and he stood in a cocky, however confident manner.

He smirked. "So, you must be the beautiful Elena Gilbert I've heard about. Where's your father?" Elena cringed away, uncomfortable of his eyes boring through her, especially because she was wearing only a tank top and shorts.

"Who the hell are you?" She took a few steps back when he attempted to move closer towards her. "How did you get in?"

"My name is Damon Salvatore, nice to meet you." Damon scratched his head. "The rest of the information…I'm not sure I want to tell you until you're with me."

"What do you mean?" Elena's eyes widened as she slowly started to back away from him, ready to run and scream if she had to.

"I mean, kidnap you, of course. I'm the kind of man who takes what he wants." Elena's heart skipped a beat. This-this man wanted to take her away from her home, kidnap her. She felt sweat covering her forehead and her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes darted around the room to find the nearest escape route but her legs stuck on the ground. These kind of things only happened in movies!

"Stay away from me." She breathed out, trying to reassure herself that her father would come home right at that moment and would do something to help her. But she knew the odds weren't in her favor.

"Stefan, Klaus!" Damon called. Two men appeared from behind with their guns aimed at Elena.

"No, please, take our money, but not-not me!"

"Now, are you coming with or do I have to escort you to my car?" Damon stepped towards her, yet her feet stayed stuck in the same position, wobbling like crazy. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and gripped her chin harshly. "Answer me!"

"I'm not coming anywhere with you." That was when Elena remembered her phone in the bathroom upstairs. She made her decision in the snap of a finger.

And she ran like hell.

What happened next was a blur of events. Just as Elena reached halfway up the stairs, the sound of gunshots rang in her head, and realized it was her who had been shot. She sunk to the floor screaming and clutching her side as blood began seeping from the wound. Damon swore loudly, and started to make his way towards her. However, Elena found the will to keep moving and stood up, continuing her run. Unfortunately, her vision began blurring and she staggered in the direction of the bathroom, bursting into tears as soon as she had the door locked.

"Elena! Open the fucking door this instant or I'll break it down!" Her index finger struggled to dial John's number on her phone as the door was banged ruthlessly. The phone rang once, twice, thrice, and then went onto voicemail.

"Daddy…" Was the only breathless word Elena could speak before the door crashed open and she went black. The last thing she felt was cool hands lifting her higher and higher, and then pure bliss enveloped her in her unconscious state.

[…]

As John and Jeremy parked their car on the driveway, John took out his phone to check the time. It was then that he found the voicemail from Elena.

"Daddy…" They heard Elena's voice, and instinctively John looked at the door. Blood. There was wet blood everywhere.

"Elena!" He yelled, barging in. More blood covered the floor and Jeremy froze.

"Dad, where is she?" Jeremy ran up the stairs and checked Elena's room, his room, and when he got to the bathroom, he couldn't believe what he saw. The door had been broken down. Elena's phone lay in the huge puddle of blood inside and tears started streaming down his face. "Elena!"

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The word was screaming in his head: Kidnapping. He felt panic overwhelm him at the thought of his sister at someone else's mercy.

"No…" John gasped, "No!"

They just hoped that wherever she was, they could get to her before they hurt her.

**I'm just putting this story out for a trial run, so please let me know how you like it. Thanks Amy (LiveBreatheVampires) for proofreading it since I haven't really heard from Becky these days.**

**Have a good day!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, not many people reviewed, or viewed, but I guess I'll go on because (let's face it), if I want to write, I do it to please myself and other happy readers. Really big thanks to Amy for betaing this and I hope you like it!**

Chapter 2

An extremely worried Damon barged into the makeshift hospital room of his house, with Elena moaning in his arms. The blood from her wound still hadn't stopped flowing and by that time had already stained Damon's new white t-shirt as large crimson spots. What really amazed him, however, was the fact that Elena had been able to climb up a flight of stairs although she had been shot.

_ She didn't want to be kidnapped_, he thought, that's why.

One of his best friends and Doctor Rose, who lived with the gang, was completely against the jobs they took up from time to time. The only reason she stayed was because she had no home and Damon liked to have her help with injuries, which, even though thankfully they rarely happened Damon still wanted to be prepared for anything.

Rose stood up in alarm. "What the hell happened?"

"Help her first." Damon put Elena down on the perfectly spotless bed as Rose checked where the blood was coming from, gasping when she saw the bullet wedged in Elena's side.

"Get out," She ordered, pulling out the necessary tools from the cabinets, "And have an explanation ready." Just like that, Rose slammed the door in Damon's face and he was left outside with Stefan and Klaus. He turned to Stefan with a murderous glare, and Klaus abruptly darted out the front door with his cigarettes.

Damon sighed. "I told you not to shoot. How many times do I have to remind you?"

True, Stefan was a very experienced shooter, but even after many slip-ups and chances, he had failed yet again to focus on scaring their victim and not actually hurt them. He, too, had no intention of being considered a criminal, but all of his family was in the business, and he felt he should continue doing the same thing.

"I'm really, really sorry, but my hand-"

"Fuck every word in that sentence. If you'd killed her, our plan would have failed. If you are not going to follow my rules, don't even bother coming with us next time." Damon wrenched the gun from Stefan's hands and threw it across the room, where it knocked a china vase over.

Stefan narrowed his eyes. "If she's just a part of the plan, why do you care so much? I see it in your eyes. This isn't Katherine, Damon, you actually_ kidnapped _this girl! Don't get attached to her, the same thing will happen!" Damon remained silent, because he had nothing left to say. Why did he care? Sure, she was a carbon copy of Katherine, but that had no effect on him, did it?

"Damon, where the hell did you put the blood bags? I need to give her a transfusion, B Positive. She's losing a lot of blood." Damon raised an eyebrow, surprised and confused. Surely Rose was kidding? The bullet wasn't too deep in.

He cracked the door open to check, and he thought his eyes were deceiving him. There was blood everywhere, from the bed to the floor, dripping rapidly. Elena seemed to be in a lot of pain-so much that even though she was unconscious she was wailing like a child.

"You're right. The blood bags-they are in the…basement. Yeah, the basement. Be right back." On his way to the steps that led downstairs, Damon glared at Stefan wordlessly; only for a second, but Stefan understood he was in for it.

Damon's boots sharply clicked as he walked across the basement to the giant fridge in one corner. He wasn't at all sure if they had B Positive, which concerned him more. He hurriedly opened the door, searching through the blood bags carelessly shoved to fit in the fridge. Finally, to his utter relief, there was one bag remaining. He pulled it out carefully and ran back up the stairs, tossing it to Rose, who caught it and rushed back into the room, locking the door.

Another few minutes passed, and by this point, Damon was more worried than ever. His heart was pounding faster than a hummingbird's, and his head was in his hands, going through hundreds of thousands of thoughts. But he didn't know why he cared so much. The girl, no matter how beautiful she was, was just a captive who he planned to get rid of once his plan was successful.

Wouldn't he?

He forced himself to stand up and look into the room once again. A syringe through which blood was being transferred to Elena's body was injected into her arm. Elena was still groaning, but the noise had lowered. Thankfully, there was no blood coming from the wound, and Rose, having cleaned up the area, was stitching it carefully. Damon almost felt bad seeing her like that.

Almost.

The truth was that Elena was just a pawn, yet seeing her suffering made him feel…strange. As if he didn't want to see her weakly lying on a bed completely helpless. After all, the girl was innocent and he had to remind himself that.

Elena was in pain.

Although she'd been just half-conscious, she had felt Damon telling her to hold on as she thrashed around in his hold. This couldn't be happening, could it? He was probably going to kill her once they reached wherever they were going. She hoped she wasn't going to die. At least, not so soon. She had so much more to do in her life. Suddenly she sensed him laying her down on a bed. Hope filled her heart to the brim. Maybe he'd brought her to a hospital. If so, he'd get arrested, and she'd be free.

Not good raising your hopes too high, She thought, He might as well be leaving you on your deathbed. For all she knew he could've been throwing her on a bed in a prison cell; or in a basement where she could die out of cold or hunger.

* * *

With a final deep breath, Rose rinsed off the final traces of red from her bloodied hands. She had made her biggest achievement-removing a bullet deeply embedded in the flesh and successfully stitching up the area-a sure thing to include on her résumé. She only wondered what exactly the girl had to do with Damon. No matter-the time to talk to him was here.

Rose swiftly grabbed the collar of Damon's jacket and dragged him back to the living room, ignoring his surprised yelling. "Now," She smacked the side of his head, which made a satisfyingly large thump. "Who is she, what happened to her, and what the fuck do you have to do with it?!"

Damon rubbed his head tenderly. "She's Elena Gilbert, John's daughter. We went to her house to take her, but Stefan slipped up and shot her when she tried to run."

"Good job," Rose glowered at him, "And why did you want to, in your words, take her? This better not be a settling of scores for what happened to Katherine, is it? It better not be, or I'll get the car and take her back myself."

He sighed. "Well, partially. The rest you don't need to know because it doesn't concern you."

"No, Damon, everything concerns me because _I'm_ the doctor in this house! I'm the one who helps you out when you're hurt because I care, and you're a total jackass who needs counseling, so that gives me another reason to stay!"

"Why do you stay, then? I didn't ask you to!" Damon yelled, and Rose widened her eyes in disbelief.

"So you're saying that I shouldn't have saved her? Well, I'll be happy to rip open those stitches right now and shoot her again! She'll die, and if that's what makes you happy, then I'll go along on my own way and leave you to take care of her!" She stomped her way to the staircase, pushing Stefan and Klaus from her path angrily. Damon simply rolled his eyes, shaking off the regret. "And don't even attempt to get her to fall in love with you or even like you, or I'll make sure you end up in the worst fucking spot in jail again!"

When she said those words, Damon's eyes burned up with tears, rimming them with red. Rose had never referred to his past. Sure, he'd made some mistakes in life, but he wouldn't make them again if he did get Elena to fall in love with him.

Which he would, and then he'll hurt her for it.

* * *

Damon sat on a chair in his bedroom, waiting desperately for Elena to regain consciousness. He was afraid that she wasn't going to wake up, considering the fact that he'd been watching her for almost twenty hours, which was just four hours less than a whole day. Rose told him she needed some rest before she woke up, that it was all the stress. He believed her with all his heart. His stomach was grumbling constantly now, so he figured he could leave Elena for a few minutes and get something to eat from the kitchen.

With a start, Damon was up and out of the room, glancing at Elena one last time before leaving. When he reached the dining room, he found Rose silently reading a newspaper, with a plate of untouched food in front of her that Damon guessed was for him. He went closer to her, narrowing his eyes at the picture of Elena plastered on the main headlines page. Her brother (Jeremy, was it?), had made a statement-he wanted the kidnapper to hand Elena over at any price, scared that she might be dead.

_ He's not getting her back so soon_, Damon thought, _All the more pain he has to bear._

"Welcome, James Bond," Rose turned back to Damon with a smile, startling him, "Your lunch has been ready for the past five hours."

Damon scoffed. "I was watching her. You have to give me some credit for that."

"Is she awake yet?" Rose asked him.

"No," He sighed, picking up his plate and trudging to the microwave to heat the food, "I'm sure she will wake up, though, after her rest."

"And then?"

"And then it's all fun and games." He smirked, pressing up a glass to the toggle button on his fridge for water.

Rose eyed the tired-looking shadows under Damon's eyes. "Before your round of fun and games, which I'm sure is going to be lovely-for you, of course, you should go sleep. You need your energy to play, don't you?" Her voice was heavy with skepticism.

"Little Miss Gilbert's got my bed occupado." Damon complained.

"You deserve that for kidnapping her. No, you deserve much more." She watched with a confused expression as he started hiking up the stairs with his food. "And…where are you going?"

"Don't act all dumb," He answered, "You know I'm going back up to watch her again."

"No food upstairs!" Rose called in a joking manner.

Damon's reply came in less than a second. "Yeah, right."

Rose just smiled, shaking her head.

* * *

Elena groaned, squinting to grasp her surroundings. She took in the warmth of the soft, fluffy covers she was practically swaddled in, the room's autumn colors, the mahogany desk in one corner, and…oh, no-why were there guns everywhere? She definitely wasn't in a hospital, so where was she? As she tried to sit up, a sharp pain in her side made her yelp and drop back down. Then she remembered he'd shot her, and pulled up her shirt, which wasn't hers-it was a size too big. It revealed a white bandage with a faint trace of blood on it. Who'd patched it up for her? Damon himself or another one of his goons? She paid no heed to that. Now her only goal was to leave this place, wherever she was, reunite with her brother and father, and forget this had ever happened to her. She pulled herself up and off the bed, wincing a little.

_Come on, Elena, walk_! She thought, edging towards the open door with the wall as support to her bad side, which felt like it was being stabbed every time she took a step, but bit back the cries that threatened to escape her.

At last she was out of the room and her eyes were fixed on the stairs. She nervously went forward, and just as she was about to step down, the dreadful pain came again and Elena nearly toppled over…but she didn't fall because Damon was in her way. He caught her effortlessly, the plate and glass in his hands just about falling over before he caught them, too, and placed them on a lamp table.

_There you go, losing your chance to escape_! She groaned internally, and avoided looking up since she knew he was staring at her.

"Where might you be going?" Damon asked softly, pulling her up. He took her arm and wrapped it around his shoulder, which made Elena slightly uncomfortable. "C'mon, let's get you back to the bedroom."

"No." Elena whimpered, barely audible. Damon paid no attention to her and they walked back the way she'd come out in silence. He helped her sit back down on the bed, propping up a pillow.

"Do you need anything?" He asked her. Yes, she seemed to want something from the look in her eyes. Again, she spoke in a voice only just louder than a whisper. "I need to go home."

Damon sighed. "Elena, you're in no condition to go anywhere right now. Wait for a few days."

"You know that's not the reason. You said it yourself last night. You said that you wanted me-what kind of a sick term is that, anyway? So you did take what you want, and kidnapped me. But you never told me what I have to do with your business. And if you wanted the guy to shoot me, you would have done it earlier. Why did you save me when you could have left me to die?" She glowered at him with pure hatred in her eyes, and Damon, being the impulsive person he was, grabbed her by the hair and pulled harshly, which caused her to scream.

"Well, since you've asked, let's have it! I did kidnap you-what will you do to me now? Murder me? Try to escape? No, you won't because I'm sure you value your life enough not to get me mad. Others get mad and breathe to calm themselves down. To calm myself down, I murder a random person walking on the street! You'd better not piss me off, or you'll pay." He snarled, "And no, I don't regret saving you because you're the reason my plan is on its way to success!"

"So I'm just a pawn to you?" She asked, on the verge of tears.

"Exactly. When I'm done with you, I'll get rid of you." That was it for Elena. She tried very hard to fight back her grief-stricken tears, but she broke down right in front of him, even though she'd promised herself that she wouldn't let him see her cry. She sobbed so hard that her throat eventually went dry and she stopped crying, Damon watching her with a smug expression on his face.

"Are we done?" He smirked wiping off a tear with the back of his hand, "Because you look hungry and I can make you something."

Elena was too hopping mad at this point. "No! I don't need your cordiality right now! How is it that you were being a total ass to me a second ago and now you're all pleasant? I can't deal with this pathetic changing of moods!"

"So you're saying you want me to lock you up in the basement and make you live off of water like a real kidnapper does?"

"Like a real kidnapper? Well, for your very kind information, you are a real kidnapper who kidnapped me, so I'm extremely curious as to know why you aren't locking me up!"

"I'm not doing that to you because-"

"Ahem." Rose cut in, knocking on the already open door. To her surprise, Damon stood up and stiffly walked out of the room without looking at her. She walked to Elena, smiling, and sat down on the chair.

"Who are you?" Elena asked.

"I'm Rose. I fixed the little, uh, accident last night. And you're Elena. Damon told me."

"Yes, I am." She said, then changing the entire topic. "Are you here against your will?"

Rose chuckled. "Of course not."

"So, if you choose to stay here, then don't you have a problem with what Damon does?"

"I do, but I can't stop him, because he'll kick me out to live on the streets."

"Oh," Elena realized, "But you can help me escape, can't you?"

"Definitely." Rose answered, "I'll leave the front door open at midnight. Damon and the rest of the men never really work on Saturdays, so they hit the sack by eleven. It's easy to leave since they sleep like babies and hardly wake up until early the next morning."

"Should I directly go home or somewhere else?"

Rose thought over it for a few seconds. "I think that you'd rather go to some hotel rather than home so they won't know where you are for a while."

"All right," Elena sighed, running a hand through her tangled hair, "One more question…in case somebody does see me, should I run or not?"

"No," Rose warned, "If you run, there's a chance that the stitches might tear, so just commit. Abort mission, otherwise you'd get into real trouble. I know Damon, and he hasn't exactly been kind over the years to his-hostages."

"Do you know why he has me here?" She enquired, cocking her head to the side in thought.

"I don't know. It has something to do with your father, though."

"Wait-what do you mean? My dad isn't a criminal, and he's not stupid enough to make a business deal with a thug."

"Your father worked with Damon a few years ago, and there was an accident with his wife, Katherine. Now he's vengeful." Rose rolled her eyes.

Elena shook it off, not believing her father could have worked with such a despicable person. "Well, I guess you're saying what's true. I'll ask my dad once I'm home."

"Sweetie, you have to leave this house before you can go anywhere near home." Rose reminded, to which Elena sighed insipidly.

"I know," Then Elena became aware of the throbbing pain in her side. "Hey, do you have any painkillers?"

"Sure, I do, but you'll have to eat something before you take them." She smiled, "Come on." Elena pulled herself up and limped outside with Rose. They'd reached the bottom of the stairs before Elena saw the same man who had shot her, Stefan, drinking coffee at the dining table, and she froze as her breathing accelerated.

Rose looked once from her to Stefan and back, rubbing her arm warily. "Hey, he's not going to hurt you now."

"I'm scared of him," She breathed.

"Stefan," Rose called, and he glanced back to her, "You aren't going to hurt anyone, are you?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?" He understood the question a second later, and thought of a suitable answer. "No, of course not."

"See?" She smiled, gently tugging Elena towards the table, and sat her down on the chair opposite to Stefan so she wouldn't be too close, regarding her fear of him. "Now, what do you want? Is leftover pasta okay?"

Considering her empty stomach, Elena really didn't care what she was eating as long as she was shoving something down her throat to satisfy the irritating grumbles. "All right." Rose heated up the remains of lunch and placed them in front of Elena, sitting in the spot next to her. Elena, in anticipation, began eating like it was her last meal.

"Relax, you're not being timed!" Rose chuckled, and Stefan joined in. Elena felt the blush creeping up to her cheeks and laughed sheepishly, slowing down afterwards.

* * *

Damon had never felt what he was feeling now. Nobody had ever talked to him like Elena just did, and he wanted very badly to hit something or break it down, preferably her. He took another swig of his drink and banged the glass down on the table. Drinking wasn't helping his situation. With every sip, he yearned to go back to his room, drag Elena out, and put her in her rightful place so she'd learn that she wouldn't be leaving this place until she surrendered to him.

But somewhere inside him, feelings lurked and they were screaming at him not to treat her like trash. He went back to the old times, when he was new to the business, and the biggest player in the entire underworld. Women would throw themselves at him, and he would accept them with his arms open wide. But the only girl he ever took a step forward with was Katherine. They met one day, got engaged the next, and they were off on their honeymoon the day after. It happened all too quick but they loved each other more than their own lives till the end. After the mess that got him in jail he always kept his wedding ring on as a symbol that he wasn't open, and wouldn't be for the rest of his life.

But Elena…she was feisty and filled to the brim with the same fire that Katherine had in her. He only wished she would become his and stay his, for that matter.

"Damon," A voice interrupted his thinking. Klaus. "Phone call from the Lockwoods' office. Mason wants to talk to you about a deal."

Damon groaned. "Not now, I'm busy. Tell him to talk to me during dinner tomorrow."

"Fine." Klaus said, and left abruptly, leaving Damon to continue his solo pity party.

* * *

"Brother," Stefan simply said with a knock on the door, "Can I come in?"

Damon's head shot up. "What is it?" He was truly tired now. He had refused dinner so he wouldn't have to see Elena, and had spent his time shooting a picture of John Gilbert for hours, till it was almost entirely destroyed. He felt better after that, but an unending anger remained.

"I wanted to talk," Stefan muttered at low volume, "Do you want to go downstairs for coffee?"

He stood up from his chair, and walked over to the door, where Stefan was patiently waiting for an answer. "Coffee? Now? It's almost midnight!"

"Shh," He whispered, "It's important."

"I suppose. Just wait for me a minute. I have to go wash my face." Damon slurred, teetering in the direction of the bathroom. A loud crash echoed from inside a moment later. "I'm okay!"

Stefan doubled over in laughter.

* * *

The clock struck twelve.

Elena had changed into completely black clothes, from the shirt to the leggings to the sneakers. She was ready for an escape, ready as she'd ever be. Now all she had to do was get out of the house silently and pray that she could find shelter for the night. Her heart was hammering so hard she could hear it.

She tip-toed out of the room and sneaked down the stairs, trying not to make any noise at all. Just as Rose had promised, the front door was cracked open, making it even easier for her to go. This time she noticed the huge glass window that was letting in dim moonlight and the shadows created by the furniture was giving the entire living room an eerie touch. Smiling, she went further, but just as she was about to step out, all the lights of the living room flashed on and she found Damon and Stefan staring at her in shock.

And just like she had the night before, Elena ran like hell.

"Not her!" Damon groaned, and took off behind her with Stefan following him.

Elena screamed like a maniac as she bolted faster and faster across the rough concrete. Damon was hot on her trail, just inches away from her. Her lungs burned with exhaustion and her legs felt as if they would collapse any second, but she kept going, determined to leave this psychopathic man. Unfortunately, a rock pierced her foot and she stumbled, a sharp twist in her abdomen causing her to get sprawled across the cold, damp ground.

Damon grabbed her hands and dragged her the entire way back as she clawed at his hands angrily, almost desperately. He lugged her up the stairs roughly, yelling curses at her, and his hands only grew tighter around her wrists at bruising strength.

"Let me go!" She screamed. Damon threw her onto the bed and held her down with his entire weight on her. Now she was truly frantic; the feeling of him against her wasn't appealing in the slightest manner. Stefan pulled her arms up and handcuffed each one to each side of the bedpost; the same with her feet. Tears began uncontrollably gushing down her face. Damon climbed off of her and hurriedly searched in his drawers for some duct tape, which he did find, and tightly put it over her mouth.

"That. Was. It! You just went over the top. Now stay here like this, locked up in the room until you've decided to behave." He growled, and left the room, leaving Elena scared, exhausted, and a sweaty mess.

She knew it. She was never leaving this place, ever.

**I hope you liked it! Please don't forget to review, and thanks a lot to Amy for her awesome beta skills.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, everyone! As I got the edited chapter back from Amy (LiveBreatheVampires), I'm posting it! You can expect an update of Yours sometime this week. **

**This chapter isn't dark much. There's mostly some additions to the story's plot that I felt would help it.**

Chapter 3

Rose shot up, hearing the sound of muffled cries. They were coming from the room next door. But that was- that was Damon's room! Hadn't Elena left yet? Did Damon catch her? She silently walked out and slipped into the other room without being noticed, paying no attention to the angry yells downstairs.

What she saw shocked her beyond comparison. She gasped, a horrified expression forming on her face. Elena was asleep, handcuffed to the bedposts, dried tear tracks covering her cheeks. It didn't take her too long to realize that Damon had caught her, and he had done this to the poor girl. She also noticed that there was a cut on her foot which was bleeding, however there was nothing major. Rose tried to come up with a possible theory of how Elena was caught, but then again, Elena was just a girl and the slightest sound could've captured his attention, even if she had noisily stepped on a rock.

Before Rose could examine the cut more thoroughly, a hand clamped over her mouth and dragged her out of the room. It was Damon. Rose swung a fist in his direction, but he dodged it reflexively.

"What did she do to you for you to act this way with her?" Rose shouted.

Damon glared at her. "She tried to escape! And anyways, you're not the one who makes decisions in this house. I am!"

"For your information, she's just an innocent girl! I thought I went over this last night!"

"I don't care if she's innocent or if she's a fucking criminal, I kidnapped her and I will choose what to do with her when I want to!" Damon snarled, "And how the fuck was the front door open? I asked everyone, and they had no idea how, because you know that there's an alarm by that door!"

After a long silence, she finally blurted everything. "I kept the door open so that she could go! It's my fault, okay? Do what you want to me but don't be such a dick to Elena!"

Damon clenched his jaw furiously, trying to keep himself from hitting Rose. "Well, then, you can fucking get out of my house." Rose's jaw opened wide and tears filled up in her eyes. She took a few seconds to get herself together.

"Fine," She said, "But if something happens to her and you need me to help, I won't be there."

"Just go. Pack your things and leave before morning." He answered, walking away.

Stefan was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. "Damon, what did you do?"

"I did what I had to do," Damon said. "And I'm not talking about it or discussing the matter."

He turned around, leaving a stunned Stefan behind.

* * *

Elena had never felt so desperate and helpless in her life.

She was sobbing and fighting against her restraints for hours, waiting for someone to come and free her from the terrible handcuffs and duct tape, but throughout the night, only a few sounds came from outside, and even though when she heard them she fought harder to catch their attention, it was no use. In all honesty, it only made her arms and legs sore, her throat dry, and her cheeks tear-stained. Not to mention the newly attained cut on her foot and her entire left side which was incredibly painful.

The morning sun shone in through the windows, indicating a new day's start. Just days ago, Elena would have welcomed the new day, but now she dreaded it, all because of Damon. There were a few times in the night that she fell asleep from exhaustion, but she always woke up crying because the nightmares shewas having scared her so much that she couldn't calm herself down.

She wondered what her father could have done for Damon to kidnap her. Surely it wasn't that bad? All thugs got mad over the slightest reasons, didn't they?

But she had a feeling that whatever Damon's plan was, it was going to involve hurting her.

The door swung open and Elena gasped, watching him enter with a devilish grin on his face. She composed her face, glaring at him with as much loathing and hate she could produce. That didn't seem to affect his mood, though.

"Good morning," Damon said, "How did you sleep?" He looked at her for a moment, and then faked surprise.

"Oh, right! You can't speak because there's a piece of duct tape stuck on your mouth. Let me help you with that." Walking over to her, Damon stroked her cheek with the back of his hand seductively, smiling wider at the sight of Elena fighting against the handcuffs. He ripped off the duct tape in one swift motion, causing Elena to cry out, and she spat in his face.

"Fuck you," Elena hissed. Damon's grin turned into an expression of absolute fury, and he backhanded her face with as much power he could gather. Her face turned the other way as her eyes filled with tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks. That had hurt more than she expected and she knew that there was going to be another bruise. How dare he hit her like that?

Damon unlocked the handcuffs and Elena slumped onto the bed, cradling her face in one of her hands. The other curled into a fist.

"That, my dear, is a sign that you need to learn how to behave," He said with the same cocky tone he had used before. He eyed the cut on the bottom of her foot, which was covered in dry blood. "By the way, the cut on your foot looks like it hurts. Maybe you shouldn't have tried to run away. None of this would have happened."

"None of this would have happened if you hadn't kidnapped me in the first place!" Elena shouted.

Damon lost it. He pulled Elena into a sitting position by fiercely yanking on her hair and keeping a tight hold on it. She screamed in an agonizing way, a few tears slipping out of her eyes.

"Here are some rules, sweetheart. One, you don't get to talk to me like that. Two, if you dare try to escape again, I will torture your brother until he goes crazy. And three, from now on, you will follow all of my instructions if it kills you." Damon snarled. "Now get the hell up and come with me!"

He used his grip on her hair to make her stand, and even though Elena tried hard, she couldn't stay put. Another harsh pain in her side made her collapse, but this time Damon had absolutely no mercy. He hauled her out of the room while she stumbled and sobbed, begging him to leave her be. Elena didn't care anymore. She just wanted to stop feeling. Stefan and Klaus watched from the stairway grimly, not making a sound. After all, Damon was their boss, even if he acted like a friend with them.

Stefan felt the worst. He did have humanity in him. Elena wouldn't be crying like this if he hadn't caused that wound to her side. Damon probably would've tied her up and locked her in the basement and that would've been better. Now Rose was gone, too and she had been the only person able to change Damon's actions and convince him not to do something wrong.

Damon shoved Elena into his private bathroom. She fell down, trembling and bawling like a little girl whose ice-cream had fallen down.

"There are clothes for you in that closet. Get yourself cleaned up. I don't want any funny business going on in here. I'll be back for you in twenty minutes." He ordered, closing the door and leaving. Elena crawled over to the door and locked it, sighing in relief. At least he was gone.

She weakly stood up, holding the counter. She looked completely different. Her hair was a tangled mess and her nose was red and puffy. A few bruises lined her jaw and cheek and her eyes were bloodshot. The left side of her face was swollen. That, and some strands of her hair were coming off.

Elena burst into tears.

She hated Damon. She hated him and feared him at the same time, and wished she was a million times stronger than him so she could hurt him for what he'd done to her. But she wasn't. She'd never be, as long as she was stuck in this hellhole. Elena wondered where Rose was. Why hadn't she come to help her last night?

Sniffling, Elena peeled off her clothes and stepped into the shower, turning up the heat to as high as it would go. At first she stood there, immobile, but reminded herself that she had only twenty minutes to finish and squeezed out a small amount of shampoo from its bottle, massaging her scalp gingerly to soothe the dull burning. Hmm…that felt better. Then she began rubbing off any traces of blood and dirt from the rest of her body.

3 knocks on the door made Elena jump. But she remembered that she'd locked the door from the inside. There was no way for Damon to come in. For a few minutes, Elena was left alone again. She had just finished rinsing off the soap and was out of the shower when the sound of the door unlocking came from outside. Panic took over her as she realized that he had the key to unlock the door and she shivered at the thought of what he could do to her. Sweat instantly covered her forehead and it was then that she realized how genuine her fear of him was.

Before Elena could jump back into the shower and pull the curtain back, the door swung open and Damon walked right in, his eyes narrowed, but his glare turned into a smirk as soon as he saw her. That wasn't what bothered Elena most, though. It was the fact that she was butt-naked in front of him that concerned her. She grabbed the towel and hastily wrapped it around herself, while trying to remain calm as he advanced on her. She closed her eyes in fear and waited, waited for anything-maybe she was even waiting for him to hurt her or worse.

Damon had just enough time to take in her slender figure. And, oh, was she beautiful. Just as beautiful as Katherine. Maybe even more…

"Don't look at me like that!" Elena snapped trying to sound brave when in reality, she just wanted to vanish.

Damon came back to his senses. Elena had crossed her arms and was glowering at him.

"You're mine, honey. I can look at you any way I want." He said. "So…are you putting those clothes on or are you willing to prance around like that for the rest of the day?" He gestured to the towel. Elena scowled even more.

She clobbered over to the closet and opened it, pulling out the clothes. There was a loose, translucent red tank top, a pair of denim bermudas, and-and lacy black lingerie?! No way in hell would she wear that!

"You pervert," She simply stated, with looks that could kill. "Why would you even think that I'd be willing to wear that?"

Damon raised an eyebrow. He picked up the clothes she'd previously been wearing and threw them into the sink, turning the tap on. Elena stepped forward a little bit, gasping, but she didn't dare go further because Damon was blocking her way.

"So-wet clothes or dry clothes, that's the question." Damon grinned.

"The-the dry ones." Elena said, giving in. She went back into the shower and pulled the curtain as far as it would go. With a wince, she put on the lingerie that was making her blush redder than a fire engine and the rest of the clothes as well. She threw open the curtain and carefully climbed out, limping to Damon. He looked over her like she was a stripper waiting to-well, strip. She crossed her arms again, hoping he wouldn't see the bra underneath.

Elena promised herself that she wouldn't cry if he did anything to hurt her. She'd done enough of that, and wanted him to see her as a strong, independent, and free-willed girl. He might even let her go if it worked on him.

She had a feeling that it wouldn't work that way.

* * *

Jeremy sighed.

It had been two days since Elena went missing. He'd contacted the police and every single hospital in the area but there was no success. The previous night, even John had left to go somewhere. He hadn't told Jeremy where he'd be. Jeremy tried every single number in his contact list but there was no hope of finding Elena or even John.

He was crouched on the floor of Elena's bathroom, repeatedly looking for clues he knew weren't there. The police had taken Elena's phone as well as all the other objects in the room that could've had something to do with her disappearance.

Damn police, Jeremy thought.

In a while, Jeremy stood up and ran downstairs to drink some water. He was almost down the stairs when he saw something move around in the corner, camouflaged to seem the same color as the wall. A camera!

Jeremy ripped the camera off the wall, not caring about the paint. A sticker was stuck to the bottom. How had the police not seen this? There was a possibility that whoever had placed this camera here was the culprit.

The sticker said, 'Ric's Security Systems' with the number '804-785-1409' under it.

He scribbled the number onto a notepad and practically zoomed to the nearest payphone. Once he'd punched in the numbers, the phone rang as Jeremy tapped his foot anxiously, and finally a man spoke.

"This is Ric's Security Systems, how may I help you?"

"Um, my name is Jeremy Gilbert. I live in Mystic Falls, the house number is 935. The camera in my house isn't working, and I'd like someone to come and fix it." Jeremy said.

For a second, the man sounded surprised, but he answered. "Oh, well, we don't fix the cameras, we only supply them." He paused. "But I can give you the phone number for a person who fixes them."

Jeremy said yes anyways. The man gave him the phone number, and Jeremy began walking down the street to go home.

The payphone rang.

In hopes of the man calling him back to give him a hint, he raced back to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?" He asked.

"Okay, kid, let me tell you the truth. You have no business whatsoever about that camera and who put it in your house, so don't go calling the police or anything or your life will be in grave danger. Have a good day."

"Please!" Jeremy begged, "My sister's been kidnapped and my dad left and I really need to find one of them. Please, just help me, please. I have nobody else to go to."

"Fine," The man said. "The guy who has your sister is a very powerful arms dealer. He'll kill you if you interfere in his work, but, if you go to him under the pretenses of buying a weapon, you will be able to see if your sister is well. Don't, I say don't tell him your name, and don't try to save your sister. He'll kill both of you. The number that I just gave you is his. Do what you want now. I won't give you any more tips."

"Thanks a lot, sir," Jeremy said. The phone clicked off and Jeremy breathed out joyfully. At least he knew now that Elena was alive, that he wasn't blindly following shit for nothing. First, he decided, he'd plan out what he was going to say and then take action.

He only hoped that things would go right from now on.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Salvatore manor, Damon sat next to Elena, who'd been cringing away from him every time he tried to touch her, coaxing her to eat something. She'd refused after he'd asked for the third time in a row, and it was getting to be infuriating.

"Last try, Elena. If you give me the right answer, it might just help you." Damon said, rolling his eyes, "Do you want to eat something?"

"For the fourth time, no. N-O. It's not exactly hard to understand." Elena stiffly replied. Damon felt she'd hit the limit. For god's sake, he'd been talking to her like she was a fucking child, and she was acting like it, too!

"Well, if you're not going to be a good sport, you don't get food for a day." Damon made his comeback.

Elena gasped. "Rose would never allow that!"

"I'm the one in charge here. Last night I found out it was Rose who'd tried to help you escape, and she came to the bedroom to unlock the bonds, too, so I kicked her out of the house." Damon grimaced. He hadn't wanted to do it, but the demon part inside of him that had no humanity forced him to.

"N-no, you couldn't have!" Elena screamed, and Damon held her chin in a bruising grip so she'd be quiet.

He squeezed her chin so she'd stop whimpering. "What did I tell you? You don't get to speak to me that way, as long as you're not one of us. Even then I doubt I'd let you talk like that."

Once she'd finally settled down, Damon released her chin and Elena rubbed it while she glared at him. Damon stood up. "Do what you want to do, but don't leave the house. There's an alarm. If you try to escape, I'll give you an even worse punishment. Got it?"

Elena nodded, watching him run up the stairs. She fell back into the cushions and sighed. Anything to get away from him for a while. She got up as well and walked into the hallway she hadn't been in yet, the one parallel to the door. There had to be something here that shut down the alarm system. If she could just find it, it would make her the happiest girl on earth. She wanted to get away from him, from this hellhole. She was a person and he had no right to hit her or to take her freedom away! To Elena, Damon was a monster and she knew that if she were to survive, she had to find a way out.

She had to.

**I know, this isn't enough to satisfy your needs, but next time, expect some crazy shit happening to Elena. That's all I can tell you. Now you just have to keep guessing what the crazy shit is until I update again, which will take a few weeks. **

**Thanks so much to Amy (LiveBreatheVampires) for betaing this! It's a huge help. You should all check out her stories because they're great!**

**Have a good day!**


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